City.People.Light award 2014

City.People.Light award 2014

Check out the highlights from the amazing entries in the award contest 2014.

First Prize

The city of Leipzig wins first prize in the City.People.Light awards 2014

The city of Leipzig in Germany has been awarded the first prize for its urban regeneration of Richard-Wagner-Platz in the 12th annual City.People.Light awards ceremony on 7 November 2014 in Dubrovnik,Croatia. The lighting design was done by lighting design office Licht Kunst Licht Bonn/Berlin, who also was awarded.

The site of a 10th century market settlement from which the city of Leipzig was born, Richard-Wagner-Platz is steeped in political and architectural history from the Middle Ages through to the fall of Communism. The unique lighting atmosphere carefully matches the city’s architecture with warm white light to illuminate buildings, sculptural fountains and a skate park. Many different interests were incorporated in the final result to create the right atmosphere with modern contemporary LED lighting, preserve and highlight historic fixtures and make significant energy savings for the city.

Mr. Rainer Barth, representative of the city of Leipzig, commented: "We wanted to pay homage to the historical roots of Leipzig, that’s why we launched a public competition to redesign the lighting through a democratic decision process. The project is an excellent example how to involve citizens and other stakeholders in the preparation of an urban regeneration project."

"Philips and LUCI created the City.People.Light awards more than a decade ago to celebrate the most sustainable urban regeneration projects that creatively use light to improve the lives and experience of citizens and visitors, alike," said Vojislav Radovic, Philips Outdoor Lighting Manager South District C&EE. "The projects submitted this year were of an outstanding quality and set a new standard for the cities of the future. The Leipzig project was not only innovative for crowd-sourcing ideas from citizens, and delivering city beautification and safety, but also for negotiating the delicate balance of commemorating complex heritage with cutting edge lighting technology."

Second prize

Bicycle snake bridge, Copenhagen, Denmark

The Bicycle Snake is a long, red sculptural bridge exclusively for cyclists. It is a unique and exciting ride high above sea level, separating cyclists from pedestrians and sheltering the quay side below. At night, the bridge is softly illuminated with built-in lighting in the hand rail to enrich the area with a bright, visual element. The jury this year was impressed by the limited lighting used, meaning no additional energy consumption for lighting effects and no glare.

Third prize

Place du Château, Strasbourg, France

Place du Château is an iconic square adjoining Notre Dame Cathedral. This project set out to transform it into an outstanding feature of the Grande-Île, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The jury was impressed by the incorporation of light on both vertical and horizontal surfaces, a challenge which was executed in a unique, sophisticated and outstanding way. The rigorous long preparation process of one year, involving citizens included conferences, guided tours, workshops and questionnaires, and added to the credibility of the final result.

Special Mention

Wellington, New Zealand

Interactive lighting preventing crime through environmental design. A narrow dark lit street has become a safe and fun place for pedestrians at night thanks to this creative interactive lighting scheme. Presence detectors trigger playful lighting schemes with animated patterns and muted colors that entertain and bring the space to life. This project emphasizes the capacity of light to improve the livability, safety and visibility of a street with connected interactive lighting creating multiple scenarios or "light plays" triggered by sensors that interact with passers-by. The showstopper installation is a large chandelier hanging above the lane with projected light effects that create a dreamlike appearance. In addition, the project impressed the jury for the thought put into preventing glare and spilled light. The lighting design was done by Stephenson & Turner NZ Ltd.

Special Mention

Illumination of living cranes, Pula, Croatia

This was the only "industrial heritage" lighting project in the City.People.Light awards, honoring the shipyard of the city. Uljanik is one of the oldest working shipyards in the world. Instead of moving the shipyard out of the center, it was brought to the fore and celebrated as a landmark recalling the city’s heritage and celebrating the economic growth engine of the area. This unique project bathes eight majestic cranes in Philips LED light programmed to emit 16,000 different variations in color and intensity to highlight the industrial heritage of Pula. A large-scale light feature adds a vertical axis to the luminous sea horizon, creating a dynamic sculpture of the seafront. The illumination of the cranes also serves as an example for other cities with harbors or new urban area development programs. With the shipyard made into a living landmark, the urban lighting project stood out for its bold decision to preserve the industrial heritage that has brought prosperity to the city. A distinguished landmark that has revitalized the seafront of Pula. The lighting design was done by Skira lighting design.

People Choice award winner 2014

Lighting master plan, Ankara, Turkey

The People Choice award is a new award category where the public can vote for their favorite urban lighting entry. The top 16 projects from the City.People.Light awards selected by the independent professional jury are competing for this new award. The city of Ankara has received the most votes from the public. Ankara won partly because it activated the People Choice award through their social media network.

Architectural harmony has been created by composing city structures into one lighting master plan.The warm and elegant ambience respects the nighttime landscape by using a variety of connected white and colored light technology. The scheme has had a positive impact on residents and visitors, creating attractive areas that are safe with modern silhouettes to enhance the city’s identity. These kinds of large scale urban lighting projects are not often seen and the jury was convinced that this was a perfect example of how you can create and implement a complete lighting master plan for an entire city’s assets and infrastructure. The result is a great improvement and enhancement of the city’s image and livability.